I voted for Crocodile Tears.
But it was a hard choice. Almost all of them were interesting
and several were really good.
1,2,3 or 4 could have gotten my vote. It depended on my mood.

I wish the heats had been smaller. It might make voting
easier.
[*]Uncle Bill's Pawn Shop
[4]Fires in Bisiv's Forge --- great mystery
[2]Enough to Drive you Batty -- Loved the NPC
[1]Crocodile Tears --- I could build several adventures on
--- this alone and it made me think
--- of other options and twists
[3]The Trouble with Dryads --- Could be a great recurring
--- character.[*]Marshall Law -- intresting NPC. And might use an idea.[*]King Troll and his Pet Rex -- interesting possibilitie[*]Jakob Stonewarren [*]The Endless Maze (.zip file)

1. Uncle Bill's Pawn shop
I really liked the idea of setting up the PCs in this encounter. It also gave room for a lot of character intercation, with Jamis, Uncle Bill, Karl later on, etc.
A very good entry.

2. Fires in Bisiv's Forge
Another very good one. I will probably use the dome, and perhaps the whole encounter. The only thing I missed was perhaps a better description of the curse.

3. Enough to drive you batty
A kobold sorcerer that argues with his bat familiar? What could you want more? Another classy entry, and the one I voted for in the end.
The Neutral Kobold and the caves are both independently usable, I think, and the idea was just neat.

4. Crocodile's Tears
Another very good one, as I happen to like crocodiles, and the sunken temple idea was fitting. It was another close call, but in the end, Batty won out.

5. The trouble with Dryads
The thing I didn't like was that no map of the caves were provided. Also, a little more background towards the Dryad would have been nice; the detail tha the shambler is "in love" with her struck me as a great idea that should have been worked out a little more.

6. Marshall Law
I liked the NPC a lot. I still am not sure what the wagon trail has to do with the Marshall, and therefore I think the encounter wasn't well knitted together, but I will probably use the Marshall nevertheless. A bit more about the Torch would have been nice, too.

7. King Troll and his pet Rex
I honestly got confused by the bad style the adventure was written in. It was also a little to abrupt for my tastes, with little to no introduction or motivation notes. Also, the Rust Monster pet has no bearing. The weapons of the PCs are strewn around, but not destroyed? So King Troll doesn't feed his pet?

8. Jakob Stonewarren
A nice Idea, though I don't know how Jakob could survive in the mine that long. What was he living from? How did he fashion his armor from mithril veins? A dwarven drider, though, is neat.
The introduction was a little short, as well.

9. the Endless Maze
One thing that bugged me was the split pages. It only heightened the idea of seperating the three parts of the encounter, and I really lost any connection between these three. What is the encounter about? What happens, and why? Somehow it got lost.

Disclaimer 1: Above all, I am a very silly man. So if a statement of mine can be construed as joke - especially if it's not funny - it likely is.
Disclaimer 2: I am also opinionated, so when not joking I am still voicing my opinion. Except when I am stating facts.

Re: Mini Encounter Contest: Heat Two

Originally posted by Morrus
Uncle Bill's Pawn Shop
Fires in Bisiv's Forge
Enough to Drive you Batty
Crocodile Tears
The Trouble with Dryads
Marshall Law
King Troll and his Pet Rex
Jakob Stonewarren
The Endless Maze

An' interestin' list, to be sure....but there are only two standouts, in me ever-so-humble-opinion: "Crocodile Tears", an' "Enogh to Drive You Batty".

Both have strong character concepts an' good (believable) hooks. Neither smack of either "Railroading" or "Munchkiness". An' hey, they both followed the contest rules! How about that!

But I think Crocodile Tears has the stronger location, so I'm votin' fer it. Sorry, 'Batty.

As fer th' others:
*Uncle Bill's Pawn Shop is a great idea, but it's likely ta get th' player's dander up. I mean: hey, they're screwed, unless they're careful. ...But if they do take their time, they're likely ta by-pass the trap at the end all-together......<hint, hint>

*"Fires....." Neat idea, but doesn't do much fer me. Perhaps if the ghost starts pocessing PCs......

*"Marshall Law" As presented this is jus' too direct an' in yer face....an' annoying. Players would figger out the "recurring villian" part pretty quick...... Maybe a talented DM could pull it off tho'.

*"King Troll and his pet Rex" Err, not sure where this one comes from. Seems to combine all the "Railroad the PCs" element-cliches I could think of. I hope yer players don't have their own weapons scattered about...'cause they're likely ta use them on the DM. An' why isn't the rust monster eatin' the weapons, again?